SERIES J --- THE WARRIOR KING --- LESSON 20

DAVID AT WAR

THE WARS OF KING DAVID

From 2 Samuel 8:2-14; 1 Chronicles 18:2-13

In the course of time David defeated Moab. He made the Moabites lie on the ground and measured them with a line. Two-thirds of them were marked for death and executed. The other one-third were spared and forced to become David’s servants. Moab became a subject nation, paying tribute to King David. King Hadadezer of Zobah, the son of Rehob, tried again to fight David, but David defeated him. He captured one thousand of his chariots, seven hundred cavalry and twenty thousand infantry. Then David had all the chariot horses hamstrung so that they would be crippled. He spared only enough to pull one hundred chariots. When the Syrians from Damascus came to help Hadadezer, David killed twenty-two thousand of them. He put up garrisons in Damascus and Syria became a subject nation, paying tribute to King David. As in every battle, David was victorious again. David took the golden shields which Hadadezer’s officers carried and brought them to Jerusalem. He also forced two of Hadadezer’s cities, Betah and Berothai, to give him a large quantity of bronze. King Toi of Hamath soon learned of David’s victories and sent his son Joram to congratulate him. Toi and Hadadezer had often been at war against each other and had been enemies, so Toi was glad to learn of Hadadezer’s defeat. Besides, he wanted to make an alliance with David, so he sent gifts of gold, silver and bronze. David dedicated these gifts to Adonai, along with the other silver and gold which he had taken from enemy nations; Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines and Amalek and from Hadadezer. During all these wars, David earned the reputation of being a great warrior. He also defeated eighteen thousand troops of Edom in the valley of Salt. Then he put garrisons in Edom and the Edomites became his servants. Adonai took care of David in all these conquests and made him great.

COMMENTARY

DAVID’S WARS

During David’s rule as king, Israel fought many battles. YHVH gave many victories. When David died, the kingdom of Israel would be six times larger than when he had become king! Much of the Promised Land was reclaimed during David’s reign. From the day of his coronation at Hebron, David’s reign was marked by war. For the first seven years he fought a bitter battle with Ish-bosheth’s supporters for the leadership of the northern tribes. When he succeeded in winning their allegiance, the unification of the nation was celebrated with a solemn ceremony at Hebron. Yet even as he enjoyed the taste of victory, David knew that many more battles lay ahead. After the festivities, David’s first official action was to call his army to war. He led them in a victorious attack on Jerusalem; an ancient Jebusite stronghold entrenched in the centre of Israelite territory. By eliminating this block between north and south, David strengthened the ties uniting the two halves of his kingdom. Alarmed by David’s growing power, the Philistines were gathering their forces for battle. They were determined to overthrow him and regain their control of the land. But when news of their movements reached David, he did not wait for their attack. Taking the offensive, he routed the Philistine army and broke the power that threatened Israel’s western border for such a long time. When he had defeated the Philistines, David turned his attention to the Moabites in the east. Desert raiders who depended on surprise attacks, they were confused at the face-to-face confrontation with David’s forces, and they soon surrendered. His success over Moab was followed by victory over the Ammonites and their northern allies, the Syrians. By winning control of both nations, David gained access to the [King’s Highway,] an important international trade route. Then, when David had defeated the Edomites to the south, his conquests were complete. He had filled his treasury with tributes from defeated kings and created a protective area of conquered states on all sides of Israel.